The Things They Never Say
by girlfromsouth
Summary: Charles gets a phone call. For the LJ community multifandom1000 challenge.


Fandom: X-Men, set in the movie!verse  
  
Rating: Um... PG-13, I suppose, but it's probably me being overcautious.  
  
Pairing: Xavier/Magneto  
  
Word count: 763  
  
Summary: Charles gets a phone call.   
  
Warning: Spoilers for X2, but they're vague. Also, hey, it's slash.  
  
Professor Xavier watched the snow fall from his bedroom window. It was beautiful. Pristine and sparkling, it looked like hope. Some of the children played outside, having snowball fights and making snow angels.   
  
The phone rang behind him and he wheeled round to it.   
  
"Yes?" he asked as he picked it up, expecting it to be Scott or Logan with a report on their search for Jean.   
  
"Happy Birthday, Charles."   
  
The professor let out a long breath before speaking. "Erik. This is...unexpected." Sometimes he hated being a telepath, mostly when forced to use the telephone. He couldn't read people. Not that he'd ever been that adept at reading Erik anyway. "I-- I'm glad you're alright."   
  
"Thank you," His voice was quiet, with the slightest trace of his true accent showing beneath the polished speech he'd spent so many years perfecting. It was endearing because it generally meant he was nervous. "I'm not going to tell you where I am, so don't ask me."   
  
"I wasn't," Xavier sighed. He tried his best to separate Erik and Magneto in his mind and usually failed. It rarely mattered. His heart wasn't in pursuing, defeating or hating his nemesis, so most of the time he let it go. The simple facts were plain; he missed him, wished he knew were he was, and was grateful that at least Erik provided evidence of his continued existence in a somewhat regular fashion. "It's snowing here. It's.... really lovely. I wish--"  
  
"So do I," Magneto's voice was rather gruff, but sincere. "But, old friend, I think we both know that never ends very well."   
  
Xavier suddenly felt very old and very young all in the same moment. "I actually rather detest that."   
  
"You're charming when you pout, Charles. Really." There was a soft laugh through the phone wires and the sound, which he heard so infrequently these days, was intoxicating. "I do wish you happiness, you know. Even if that's the only gift that I can give you today."   
  
"It's not the one I want." Xavier was almost ashamed of the petulant tone of his voice, but then figured it was his birthday and excesses were permissible. He was also tired. Tired of arguing, tired of fighting, tired of endlessly being the strong, unflappable one. And the thing that was never spoken--he was tired of being alone.   
  
"It's not exactly my ideal gift either, Charles. But it's the best I can do today. It's genuine, at the least. You have no idea how hard it was to find a working telephone."  
  
"I appreciate the effort," he replied quietly. "Truly. And I promise to infer nothing about your whereabouts from that comment." Xavier made a face, sulkily pleased that Erik couldn't see him. "To be honest, I hardly care where you are when it isn't here."   
  
"Charles! Have you been drinking? It's unlike you to be so maudlin."  
  
"Not yet," he muttered darkly.   
  
"Are the children being especially problematic today? Or are you finally coming round to my way of thinking about our mutual problem which we must never speak of?"   
  
Xavier sighed. "A lot of things. I could actually use someone to discuss a lot of this with if you're ever in the neighborhood and fancy a cup of coffee."   
  
"One of these days, Charles, one of these days. Perhaps your next birthday. The war will end someday. Whether you or I or both of us will still be standing when it's over is something I cannot predict. But, I do hope--" There was an extended pause, then the sound of Magneto clearing his throat. "At the risk of sounding embarrassingly maudlin myself, I *do* hope. For you. For us. You've been poking around in my head for it for fifty years and always been looking for the wrong thing."  
  
Abruptly, Magneto laughed again, this time it was rich and full. "I have no hope for humanity, Charles. Any hope that I do have, it's both because of and about you. If I have to believe in something, anything, really, it's that you and I-- well, habits of a lifetime are hard to break. But, you know. I know. And one day... well, let's just say I have the perfect outfit planned for when I'm back for good."   
  
Xavier exhaled quietly, content to simply bask in what had been said. It was a pretty good present. "Be safe, Erik."   
  
"I shall."  
  
There was a click and then silence. Xavier sighed and replaced the phone in its cradle.   
  
He decided he was going to go out in the snow. 


End file.
